News
MIXA kills cross-taping
Published 21.04.08
Interactive design company magneticNorth talks to CREATIVE Times on how they’re venturing into product development with a USB mix-tape.
Sadly, the days of compiling mix-tapes of our favourite tunes and proudly presenting them to friends as their very own homemade ‘gift’ are long gone. Or are they? Interactive design company, magneticNorth are hoping to bring back the concept to appeal to the mp3 generation.to bring back the concept to appeal to the mp3 generation.
“We don’t own music in the way that we used to. More and more we download music and store it on our hard drives. This also means that we don’t put mix-tapes together like we used to,” explains Lisa Bower, magneticNorth’s recently appointed New Products Manager. “That’s where the MIXA comes in.”
The MIXA allows you to design your own blank cassette that looks just like the old mix-tapes - the difference being that the snazzy little gizmo is USB, so you plug it in to fill it up with music.
MIXA is magneticNorth’s first step into the world of product design and production. Their previous work has included creating interactive games for Coca Cola and building a set of organic digital plants for a project the BBC undertook with Kew Gardens. So, the MIXA is quite a move, but not a departure, Lisa assured: “I think it sits well alongside the traditional work we do, but I think it’s really important to evolve and show where else our strengths lie. We’re demonstrating that we really do understand what owning a product or a brand is all about”.
So far, the PR campaign for the MIXA has been relatively low-key, but Lisa, who admits it’s a niche product, is pleased with the results. “It’s opened doors we’d never have dreamed would be opened,” she said. “We’ve sold them all over the world, including North America, Australia and China. We’ve stirred up interest from an American retailer,” continued Lisa, while showing your CT correspondent a world map of sales that currently takes pride of place in the magneticNorth office.
magneticNorth is changing the way that they work by bravely testing out a new market. Indeed, it’s an exciting time for the whole team, says Lisa, “We’re working on some big projects, so watch this space!”
